List of Top 30 Fastest Centuries ODIs | 2019 Updates

Posted By: Bill Russell | February 12, 2019

What happens when a batsman scores a century? He takes his team a little closer to their dream of winning a match. It is true that a player’s hundred does not always mean that there will be a victory, but his efforts make the opponents sweat. More importantly, a good game with a memorable century is remembered by the spectators for many years. This beauty of scoring a century reaches another level when the player manages to score it fast, in just a few balls. Here’s a countdown of the fastest centuries ODIs cricket.

List of Fastest Centuries ODIs Cricket

Top 30 Players with the Fastest ODI Centuries of All Time

Note: Scroll down for the updated table of top 30 fastest centuries in ODI cricket

South African legend AB de Villiers holds the record of fastest ODI century ever made with his dazzling ton of just 31 deliveries. Corey Anderson also made his presence on the list with his astonishing 131 not-out innings, where his century came in just 36 balls. Previously, Shahid Afridi held the record with his 37-ball century against Sri Lanka in 1996. Jessi Ryder and Corey Anderson made their fastest centuries in the same match where Ryder took 10 more balls than Anderson to touch the 100-run benchmark. Both the batsmen destroyed the West Indian bowling attack with their massive hitting.

10. Kevin O’Brien

Irish all-rounder Kevin O’Brien holds the tenth spot in our list of the cricketers with fastest centuries ODIs. O’Brien scored his fastest hundred in just 50 balls. He made that blazing fast century in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup match against England on 2nd March 2011, in Indian City Bangalore. He scored a total of 113 runs that day with 6 sixes and 13 fours in just 63 deliveries. A strike rate of 179.36 definitely helped him to chase the 328 runs target set by England. And without any surprise, Ireland won the match by 3 wickets and Kevin O’Brien received the Man of the Match award for his spectacular innings.

9. Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya scored one of the Fastest Century in ODI Cricket History in 48 Balls

Sri Lanka’s former batting sensation and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Sanath Jayasuriya, deserves his place in the list of players with the fastest centuries ODIs. He scored his fastest ton in just 48 balls against Pakistan in the 1st match of the 1996 Singer Cup on 2nd April 1996. Jayasuriya made 134 runs in total that day with 11 over boundaries and 11 boundaries in 64 deliveries. Later, Mohammad Akram took his catch in a delivery by Saqlain Mushtaq. Pakistan, on the other hand, failed to meet the target of 349 set by Sri Lanka. For that stormy hundred with 206.15 strike rate, Jayasuriya received the Man of the Match award.

8. Jos Buttler

English right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler holds the eighth place in the fastest centuries ODIs list. He scored his fastest century in just 46 balls in the 4th ODI of the England tour of United Arab Emirates on 20th November 2015. He delivered an innings of 116 runs against Pakistan that day with 8 sixers and 10 boundaries in 52 balls. Buttler displayed a spectacular batting performance with 223.07 strike rate to set a target of 356. Pakistan lost all their wickets within 271 and England won that match by 84 runs. Buttler, without any surprise, received the Man of the Match award for his monstrous innings.

7. Jesse Ryder

The talented left-handed all-rounder of New Zealand, Jesse Ryder, earns his place in the list of fastest centuries ODIs for his spectacular innings against West Indies in 2014. He scored a blazing fast century in just 46 deliveries in the third ODI of West Indies tour of New Zealand on 1st January 2014. The All-Caps scored 283 runs in total, out of which, Ryder scored 104 runs in just 51 balls. He smashed 5 over-boundaries and 12 boundaries that day with a strike rate of 203.92. West Indies failed to chase the winning target and New Zealand snatched the victory by 159 runs with Corey Anderson receiving the Man of the Match award for his 131-runs innings.

6. Shahid Afridi

Retired Pakistani cricket phenomena and one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, Shahid Afridi, holds the sixth place in the fastest centuries ODIs list. He scored a super-quick hundred in just 45 balls in the 5th ODI in Pakistan’s tour of India on 15th April 2005 at Kanpur. While targeting the 249 runs made by India, Afridi scored that ton and ended up scoring 102 runs in 46 balls with 9 sixes and 10 fours that day. Pakistan made 252 runs in just 42.1 overs and won the match by 5 wickets with 47 balls remaining. Undoubtedly, Afridi achieved the Man of the Match award for that century having a strike rate of 221.73.

5. Brian Lara

Brian Lara scored one of the Fastest Centuries in Cricket History in 45 Balls

West Indian cricket legend and the greatest left-handed batsman of all time, Brian Lara, holds the fifth place among the players with fastest centuries ODIs. He achieved that feat in just 45 deliveries during the 2nd ODI of West Indies squad’s tour of Bangladesh on 9th October 1999 at Dhaka. Started the innings as the opening batsman, Lara scored 117 runs that day in just 62 deliveries with 4 sixes and 18 fours. With 188.70 strike rate, he helped his team to set a target of 315 runs for Bangladesh. West Indies won that ODI by 109 runs while whitewashing the opponent within 205. Brian Lara, for his spectacular batting, won the Man of the Match award.

4. Mark Boucher

Retired South African wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher holds the fourth place in our list of the players with fastest centuries ODIs. He made his fastest ton in just 44 balls during Zimbabwe’s tour of South Africa in 2006. While creating that one of a kind century, he made a total of 147 runs out of 59 deliveries, with 10 sixes and 8 fours in Potchefstroom on 20th September 2006. South Africa made a whopping 418 runs that day against Zimbabwe and restricted the opponent within 247. South Africa won the match by 171 runs and Mark Boucher received the Man of the Match award for his spectacular innings with 216.17 strike rate.

3. Shahid Afridi

‘Boom Boom’ Afridi is the only cricketer to achieve two rankings in this list of fastest centuries ODIs. He scored his speediest century in 37 balls against Sri Lanka on 4th October 1996. Afridi recorded that performance during the 6th match of 1996 KCA Centenary Tournament at Nairobi. He built a 102-runs innings that day in just 40 balls with 11 over-boundaries and 6 fours. With a strike rate of 255, Afirid helped his country to make 371. While chasing the target, Sri Lanka lost all their wickets within 289 runs thus losing that match against Pakistan by 82 runs. For his awesome batting innings, Afridi received the Man of the Match award.

2. Corey Anderson

Corey Anderson scored the second Quickest ODI Centuries of All Time in 36 Balls

New Zealand’s left-handed batting all-rounder, Corey Anderson, holds the second place in the list of fastest centuries ODIs. He scored his lightning-fast century in just 36 balls against West Indies in 2014. He established that record in the 3rd ODI of West Indies’ tour of New Zealand on 1st January 2014 at Queenstown, the same match where Jesse Ryder also scored a ton in 46 balls. New Zealand won the match by Duckworth–Lewis method that day and Corey Anderson achieved the Man of the Match award for his batting performance having a strike rate of 278.72. Anderson is one of the only three batsmen in the world to have scored a century within 40-ball benchmark.

1. AB de Villiers

One of the most dangerous batsmen and one of the best finishers in Cricket, South African wicketkeeper AB de Villiers, made the fastest ODI century of all time in just 31 balls. He made that world record against West Indies during their tour of South Africa on 18th January 2015 at Johannesburg stadium. De Villiers scored a total of 149 runs that day in just 44 deliveries with a record 16 over-boundaries and 9 boundaries. With a mind-boggling 338.63 strike rate, he helped the Proteas to set a score of 439. While chasing the winning score, West Indies lost 7 wickets in 50 overs scoring 291 runs. South Africa won the match by 148 runs.

List of Top 30 Fastest Centuries ODIs Cricket [2019 Updates]

As One Day International present the best of both worlds of the longest and shortest cricket matches, with the technical perfection in the displays by the players and their high strike rates with which they score some high scores in a short number of overs, we get to see some amazing centuries. The ones listed above have formed records that the new cricketers will struggle to break. And which one out of the Fastest Centuries ODIs is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.